Current Projects & Happenings

Community Garden at Mountain View Elementary School

We have partnered with the staff and administration to create a community garden at Mountain View Elementary School (MVES) in Mountain View, Hawai'i. This garden will provide numerous benefits to the local community as well as the environment. It is unfortunate that the state of Hawaii imports 90% of their food when in actuality their climate supports year-round growing. Mountain View has been one of the most underserved counties when it comes to access to fresh, locally grown produce even though it is in a region that can grow an abundance of food.

The establishment of a community garden at MVES will play a significant role in addressing this issue by providing a sustainable source of nutritious food for the students, staff, their families, and community members. The work will also improve mental and emotional health of the school community by beautifying the campus and offering alternative spaces for sensory relief and healing. The growing of native plants in addition to foods, herbs, and flowers will also help educate and direct action on combating invasive plant growth which is plaguing the island. 

Lastly, this garden will serve as a gathering space for not only students but families, teachers, and local residents, fostering a sense of belonging and shared responsibility for the garden. These gatherings will include after-school programs, workshops, workdays, educational sessions, compost exchanges, etc. 

Click >> here << to check out our blog about our work at the school :) 

 

Soil Remediation

Upon our initiative to grow food for ourselves and our community on a 3-acre homestead, we have uncovered copious amounts of buried trash; a result of many years of neglect and exploitation of the land before our stewardship. This has proposed obstacles that are time-consuming and costly. In order for us to confidently grow healthy food and medicine, we need to continuously test our soil for pollutants and toxins, excavate trash and polluted soil, incorporate phyto- and mycoremediation techniques, as well as bring in clean soil and organic matter to regenerate the health of the land. 

We hope that this project will help to create a culture of not only keeping the island clean, but creating strategic methods for communities that are faced with the similar challenge of growing food on polluted lands. Cleaning up the soil on this property will also benefit the surrounding native biodiversity and its resilience to a changing ecosystem. 

 

Mutual Aid 

It's messed up down here. There are class contradictions all over the world. Many of not only native Hawaiian people, but our people (melanated, afro-, indigenous) are struggling with food and housing insecurity as well as meeting other basic needs. This is a noticeable struggle for unsheltered communities in Hilo Town and a less obvious struggle within the lives of working-class individuals and families. This project is aimed to provide support kits to members of unsheltered communities that include food, water, toiletries, hygiene items, and camping/survival gear. We would also like to support general folks and families struggling with groceries, gas, bills, transportation, etc. 

Any donations made toward this project will go toward a mutual aid fund that provides support for any of the aforementioned items.